Conventionally, when a computer system experiences a failure, and particularly a hardware failure such as a motherboard failure, a service person may travel to the site where the computer system is located to provide repair and/or configuration services and restore the computer to full function. These repairs may include replacing the physical component with a same or compatible model of component.
The damaged hardware typically has associated therewith a dataset including “vital product data” (VPD) that is useful in the context of identifying the particular hardware component and/or computer system in which the hardware component was installed. The VPD is essential to efficient and accurate provision of services according to a service plan, warranty, etc. to which the particular hardware component and/or computer system are subject.
When the service person replaces the hardware component, they must manually install the VPD to the component or system after installation is complete, so that the VPD is associated with the replacement component or system, and appropriate services may be provided with respect to the component or system going forward. In conventional approaches, this requires the service person to utilize an external tool to accomplish the VPD installation.
In practice the service technician often forgets or otherwise fails to complete the requisite installation of VPD to the replaced component and/or system. As a result, subsequent events requiring provision of services may be frustrated or defeated, due to difficulty in determining the appropriate service contract, warranty, or other service-related agreements associated with the replaced component and/or system.
For instance, a component or system may be entitled to certain services under a contract or warranty, but since the VPD is not installed to, or otherwise associated with, the component and/or system, a customer-owner of the component and/or system may experience significant difficulty in obtaining those services to which they are entitled under the agreement, warranty, etc.
Accordingly, it would be beneficial to provide systems, methods, computer program products and the like which avoid the problems associated with service technician failure to manually install VPD with a serviced component and/or system.